iphone obsession

Have you ever left your iPhone at home for the day? How do you think that you would feel if you left it home for the day? Sad, lost, like a major part of your life was missing? That is totally normal for our generation to feel this way, in fact it would be odd if a college student did forget their phone, and they did not feel that they were missing something important. 

There are many reasons why we feel so lost without our phones, but how many of them are justified in that we should be stressed without it. A few reasons could be that we feel stressed that someone is trying to get in touch with us and we cannot respond. Maybe it is because we feel that we will fall behind the rest of the world and not know what is going on our various social media sites throughout the day. Another major reason we might feel weird without our phones is that our phones are useful tools in avoiding awkward real life social situations.

It is no secret that most people have their cell phones with them at all times, and that when it beeps or vibrates we tend to look at the notification immediately. So maybe we feel so lost without our phones because we are concerned that someone is trying to talk to us. Also most people have those people that they talk to just about every day, and often times all day every day. It could really shake up your day if you cannot talk to someone that you typically talk to all day.

Social media is a huge part of life now, and nearly everyone has the app instagram, twitter, facebook, or snapchat on their phones. If you miss a few hours of social media updates it seems like you need to “catch up” and try to figure out exactly what you missed. Generally people check their favorite site or sites daily, and often times multiple times a day. Is not checking social media for a long span of time a concern for someone who forgot their phone at home for the day. Once you are in a routine of checking twitter every couple hours it can be very weird not to have your phone. Whether it just is because it feels weird not to be up to date with our social media, or a legitimate concern that we are falling behind the rest of the world social media is certainly one of the reasons many of us would feel lost without our phones.

 One major reason that most people, college students at least would feel lost without our phones is because our phones help us escape awkward social situations. It is not very often that you see someone standing off by themselves and just staring off into space or anything like that, more often than not, when people are off on their own their noses are buried in their phones. Maybe we just found some free time and want to check up on our phones, or maybe we are trying to avoid boredom, but although people do not admit it we do go on our phones to avoid awkward situations. I am sure that every college student has seen someone that they did not want to talk to coming their way and put their head down to look at their phone until they passed this person in order to avoid the situation. Avoiding social situations or using your phone for comfort in social settings is another reason why we would feel lost without our phones.

I am sure that most college students can understand the feeling when their phone is left behind on accident. But why do you feel this way? Do you think that this a problem that we should address?

Jessica Soriano, Post 1

There used to be a time where Computers and all this technology we use today to help us do things did not exist, when our parents were growing up they did not have a computer, and then suddenly this magical device came out and now everyone can not live without one. We have two, three, sometimes even four of the same devices, in our homes, (I can say that I am guilty of this), and it is getting ridiculous,

The advanced technology was made to help us and many people think it does because you are writing things faster, and doing things much faster, but in reality it is hurting because although you are doing a bunch of things faster you are not retaining information. You are so focused on the fact that you have to write things down that you are just typing away on your screen. It also hurts your performance because when you eventually need to write something down, which does still happen, it is like you forget how to do it, which is completely sad. Doing things without a computer is what we first learned so, shouldn't we remember it better?

Technology is hurting our performance and not letting us retain information, and not only that but it is stopping us from being able to converse with people. I personally have asked people and they say they are way more comfortable with a txt then a face to face, letter, or phone conversation and that just makes no sense to me. Before we could communicate online it was done face to face, and occasionally over the phone, not by text, and all the people that did it turned out okay. I have asked my mom and dad which they like better and they said that they do not like the fact that all we rely on is txting anymore because it takes away the personality of a person, and all i can do is completely agree.

Unfortunately it is a sad truth that these things are happening but, it can only get worse.

As we get older, the technology will just keep getting better and they will find a new way for us to take notes, and of course we will use it and be so into it, not realizing that in fact this piece of technology will be hurting our performance and consuming our lives, just as the computer does. I feel as though it is only a matter of time before college classes become to hard to handle and that is because we can not take efficient notes, and we can not divert our attention away form the new forms of technology which are supposed to help us in school but are in fact hurting us. I honestly just hope that although I believe this, something will happen and technology will go backwards some how, and someone will realize, speak up and say that we have to start from where we started, which was taking notes by hand because that is the best method. Only time will tell if this actually happens, as we move more and more into the future.

Evans Blog Post 1

Who doesn't like the idea of not having to wait days before receiving a message or knowing if someone had received your message? In any circumstance, who doesn’t like instant gratification? That’s why cell phones are a great invention. I can remember a period in my life when I had to sit down and write letters to my loved ones who did not live close by, wait for them to get the letters, and then wait for them to respond. I was so excited when I got my first phone. Connection was just a phone call away. The most I had to do was to purchase calling cards since they were overseas. I got even more excited when I got my first smart phone (iPhone). Communication got much easier for me! I now had the chance to reduce the charge on my cell phone bill while enjoying more frequent contact because I could install applications that made it free or cheaper to connect with people. I didn’t think it could get any better and then it did. The person who I love speaking to most in the world (my mom) got a laptop. Shortly after, she received Internet connection. Now I had the opportunity to see her through video chat whenever she or I felt like it.

Because this technology is so accessible to me, I can admit that I have taken and do take it for granted many times. Before, when I didn’t own any of these or have the opportunity to use certain media, there was a longing to hear a familiar voice or see a familiar face. Now that I have the technology at my fingertips, the urge to speak to some of my loved ones lessened a little bit. That nostalgic feeling diminished. There is still a need to connect with certain people but only for important reasons. Like when you need to vent or cry or laugh for instance.

Taking this opportunity for granted brings me to my next point of certain technology becoming obsolete. At, first communication was taking place more on the cell phone. I had a simple Virgin Mobile pre-paid phone (first). I really didn’t like it. Then I got a flip phone. It was great! Eventually I got the iPhone, which was brand new, and it was just a great phone. Most of the phones that I owned before the iPhone had no problems. It was just a better technology and it had a wider range of uses. I then received my first laptop (freshman year of college) and I was so happy. I didn’t stop using my phone but for certain tasks, the laptop was better. Then I received a Samsung Galaxy. This is the phone that I really wanted when I received the iPhone. I’ve owned a Samsung brand phone before and it was just the greatest. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my iPhone. I just always thought that Samsung was a better brand. The fact that it is a galaxy made it that much better. I mostly use my cell phone to connect with people, except for those times when I need to sit down and talk.

Technology These Days

The summer going into 7th grade my parents surprised me with a new cell phone and I was shocked. But the deal was: I had to pay for it. That's when my addiction to technology began. Two years later, my pink Motorola Razr turned into a Verizon LG Voyager, which then turned into something else, and now six phones and seven years later, I'm now on my third iPhone. My family's nintendo 64 turned into playstation and then xbox one. It seems like everyone has fallen into the vicious cycle of always upgrading to new things just because they're invented. People always feel the need to be better than everyone else and having the newest technology helps them achieve that satisfaction.

It feels like yesterday that, my brother and I were playing on our swing set in the back yard, talking about what mom was going to make for dinner and just a few days ago he texted me asking if I want to upgrade to the iPhone 6, even though we just got new iPhone 5's. Back in elementary school, I would have to call my friends house phone in order to make plans instead of sending a quick text message. When my parents were young, they never had to ask someone "where are you?" over the phone because they always knew where the person was, at home. Even earlier than that, in the 40's, my grandparents would go over to each others house's to talk and make plans.
As time progressed, our society has started to lose the value of face-to-face conversation. Most conversations exist through text, chats, and tweets. Phone calls are even starting to lose their value as well; this is particularly evident when people get mad at seeing a voicemail notification on their phone.

Entrepreneurs are trying to make technology faster and easier for people to communicate but the result of their work is making people lazier and not as self confident. Everyone is sitting behind a screen; they can say whatever they want online but in person they could be extremely shy. Many people use a screen as protection from their true identity. This then leads to, "catfishing". For those of you who don't know, cat fishing is a term that refers to people who create a fake identity to trick others into thinking they're someone else. This is just another example of how technology has shaped and changed our society.

Technology can be a good thing but the way people are abusing it makes it dangerous and toxic to our society. Times used to be a lot simpler; when we were younger we worried about not being able to play outside after school and now many of us worry about not getting enough likes on our Instagram posts. Overall, technology has revolutionized our world into a world many cannot recognize. Whether it's being addicted to the newest technology or simply buying an iPhone because it's the cool thing to do, everyone feeds into this addiction.

Oatis Week 3 Posting

Communication is completely unavoidable. There is no job, profession, trade, school, or major in which one will not have to communicate. We are constantly communicating and interacting with the world around us through a multitude of mediums such as verbal, non-verbal, and ones that are computer based. Managing and understanding the messages you are sending (intentionally or not) is just as important as being able to interpret that of those around you.

In the text, the authors describe how dynamic communication is and how that effects how we define the very idea. This past summer I was hired as a 911 Emergency Dispatcher. I went training on how to be an effective communicator in high stress situations and how to best communicate with different types of callers.  Part of my training was learning about how communicating over the phone is different that in person. I had to use the non-verbal clues just as much as what the caller said. The tone, diction, and background noises all come into play and can give me just as much information as the words that the caller speaks. I was taught to use active listening techniques such as open-ended questions, paraphrasing, and repeating the caller’s words.  As calls were usually time sensitive, asking the right questions and getting the appropriate information from the caller was imperative.

In trying to describe and illustrate the idea of communication, we have simplified the communication model into a web of boxes and arrows.  We can study each aspect separately and really get into how the process works. However, what I found most interesting was the idea that “the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.”  All of the differing pieces come together and are instantaneously meshed together and interpreted by our brains. While we studied each piece individually as a step in the progression, in actuality, the process is fluid and all of the parts really operate in unison. Signals are always being sent, received, and interpreted.

In class we talked a lot about the integration of technology into our daily lives and how certain technologies have become obsolete.  As a dispatcher I had to work with five separate radio systems each of which had ten to sixty channels within it. As a kid I remember having walkie-talkies and thinking that they were the coolest things. Back then, those were the vanguard of technology, I also had a Gameboy color and a Nintendo 64. Naturally as time passed, companies came out with new technology and like we discussed, my technology went from the cutting edge to the bottom of the barrel. When I arrived for my first day of training, I was overwhelmed with how far the technology had come! My console at work operates tens of thousands of dollars worth of communication equipment. I couldn’t help but think back to those cheep little Motorola walkie-talkies and laugh. Technology is progressing at such an incredible rate that in order to be able to function as a dispatcher, I had to sit down and study radio systems. It quickly became apparent that within communication, there was a whole different branch of communications that was specific to public safety professionals.

Jordan Hutson Blog 1

I remember a time when technology didn't consume lives. When you had the most fun going outside with your friends to play and that was all you needed to keep yourself happy and occupied. As time progressed, so did technology. My Gameboy color became a Gameboy advanced, My Sega Genesis became a Play Station, and my cable television went digital. I saw myself spending less time outside and more time inside occupied with my games, or TV, or my phone. I saw myself worrying less about how great this technology is to have and more on how it’s becoming obsolete and I need to upgrade. And it wasn't just me. My friends had to have the newest phone and they needed to play the newest game as soon as it came out as if they could achieve something by being one of the first ones to play.  As technology advances so does the need to attain it. We as a society almost compete with each other to have the best and therefore be the best. For example the iPhone 6 was just announced the other day, everyone went crazy on social media about it critiquing it, and how much money they'll need to save to get it as soon as its released. My roommate stayed up till 3am just to preorder one even though he has a perfectly functioning iPhone 5. It seemed a little silly to me but I didn't blame him. If I could afford to, I'd do the same.


I've tend to notice a trend looking back from when I first delved into technology to where I am today. I've noticed that when I first got my cell phone I was in 9th grade, five years after I originally wanted one, but since then I've had two more doubling in the same amount of time, I also plan on using my upgrade in 2 months so it will be 3 phones in that span. I see a trend not just in phones but in all technology. It becomes obsolete quicker and quicker it seems like. When apple comes out with the newest iPhone, only a few months later and there's a new galaxy or android that is quote "better than the iPhone" and many people believe it to be, so they'll buy it. Same with gaming systems and iPods but gaming systems normally take longer to produce and iPods are pretty much obsolete at this point. I wonder what causes these advance to take place so quickly other than to compete for owning the 'best" technology. I know for a fact it's a simple way to keep a good cash flow with these companies as well as the government, because if you think about it if these companies tried hard enough and put in enough effort they could produce a smart phone that doesn't crack after dropping it one time and produce a lock button that doesn't stop working. They don't though, one because they would need to use more money to make it which is a big no-no, plus then we as primary buyers wouldn't need to upgrade as often. They price these phones at $300 and $400 dollars when it costs about half that. An iPhone 5 cost roughly 167.50 to make, yet they sell it for no cheaper than $200, or at least they did when it came out, plus that doesn't include the billing plan. I think we as a society like the fact that things constantly become obsolete because even after some of the crazy prices we still want what can help us do the most, the easiest. So, yes technology will continue down the path of updating sooner and becoming obsolete quicker, its what we do, and I don't think there is anything truly wrong with that. I do think that we need to find some uses for the obsolete technology possibly donating it to the Salvation Army or simply recycling it so its  not a complete waste, but other than that I don't see a problem with how fast paced technology has become.

Jeffrey Blog 1

Jeffrey Morale Rosa

Technology has changed significantly overtime and has changed the way that we communicate with one another. Before people depend prominently on letters or face-to-face communication, now e-mail let people connect almost instantaneously and cell-phones allow people to contact one another anytime, anywhere. 

If we look back the years, the difference in technology is simply outstanding, from a flip phone to a touch phone, from a dial-up connection to wireless connection and even using a smartphone as a hot spot to use wireless internet. To this day I remember having to walk around the house letting everyone in the family know that I was going to use the internet for whatever reason, so that they would know that the phone would be out of use for a certain time period. The technological imperative, technological progress that is presented as unstoppable, is mind-blowing to say the least and it is ever changing at great haste; all the technology advances like cell phones, laptops, cars, etc have made everyday task so much simpler. Information is a search away, what used to be hour long journeys are now minutes of driving and it also connected families that have, for any kind reason been separated at one point or another. But at the same time the development of technology has been so rapid that some technology has become old or obsolete. Obsolete technology is outdated technology, like the cd players or flip phones. And society, I personally, do not want to stay behind when it comes to technology. Nobody wants to be behind in technology, which is why there is a new launch or a new update showing new technological advances.

Working in childcare this past summer has showed me not only how far technology has come, but how this generation is different from my own. I had the pleasure of working with children this past summer and can vividly remember one story about technology that still makes me laugh to this day. One of the little girls in my group came in this summer excited to show off the new bracelet she had got on vacation to our group. As she was telling me about it she smiled and said “do you know what kind of material it is made of?”  The bracelet she was wearing was made of an old telephone cord, of course I knew what it was but she on the other hand was very surprised. It made me remember a time in my own home where our phone cord was long enough to stretch around our entire first floor. This is such a reminder of how technology has come over time, as well as how it has become obsolete and that this generation will never know what it means to not be wireless. There are some advantages that come with technology being so advance, like distance is obsolete, but there are some disadvantages to it as well, like the internet is not censored and kids are exposed to the reality of the world. 

Christian Farrell Blog 1

It is truly amazing how fast today’s technology advances. There are countless pieces of technology that we have all used that by today’s standards are considered obsolete. When asked to list all of the past technology you have used over your lifespan, you start to understand just how fast these technologies become obsolete. The first piece of technology I can remember using is my Gameboy Color. By today’s standards it is not a very advanced piece of technology, but when it first came out, the Gameboy Color was at the top of the list for hand-held gaming systems. However, since the Gameboy Color’s release in October of 1998, Nintendo has released ten hand-held gaming systems. On average that’s approximately a new gaming system every 19 months. Leaving their shelf-life limited to less than two years, before they are replaced by a better system.

            These days it does not take long before any piece of technology becomes obsolete. Just looking back at the phones I have previously owned, the difference between a Motorola Razr and an Iphone is night and day. With the rate at which technology is becoming obsolete increasing, companies that produce technology are able to profit more from people buying new technology. Companies know this and advertise to make the buyer feel like they need the newest technology, so as not to be obsolete. Every year, Apple comes out with a new Iphone that is faster and better than the last. The question is, how much better is this new technology? Is it really worth spending all that money when your current phone works just fine? These questions are better answered by the individual consumer. Personally, I don’t like to replace my phone until my contract is up or until I absolutely need to. I have had three phones in my lifetime, and each time I upgraded I was blown away by how much phone technology had progressed. Just upgrading from my Razr to my HTC phone, I was amazed at how I could now go on the internet with my phone while using a touch screen. Then upgrading my HTC phone to an Iphone, I saw even more improvements and advancements. Such as; being able to listen to my music, use a Facebook application, and use other great applications. It’s not just the phones that are advancing quicker than we can replace them, laptops, computers, and televisions are being made better every day. And with the creation of the tablet, laptops are slowly losing popularity to these smaller, easier to use tablets that can do all the same things a laptop can do. It seems so long ago that televisions use to have a back to them. Now it seems that the flatter a television or laptop screen gets, the more advanced the technology is. How fast is too fast for the technology world? If the rate at which technology becomes obsolete increases anymore, will people stop buying the newest technology? At this rate people may be replacing their phones six months at a time instead of a year at a time.

Aidan Skelly Blog 1

Technological determinism is a very interesting concept. The idea that the technology that we use has a major impact on how our society advances is amazing. We never think about it, but imagine yourself ten years ago. How difficult was life without your smartphone? What about when it took about 3 minutes to load a webpage on the computer? Could you imagine how frustrated you would be now if your computer took that long to load just a simple webpage? These types of advances in particular have changed our patience as a whole. If we are out and about and have a question, what do we do? We instantly google it. Years ago, we couldn't do that. If nobody around us knew the answer, we would have to wait to find it out later. We can no longer wait for things. We have grown to desire everything right then and there. Society has grown so attached to our cell phones that people are willing to wait outside for hours just to get the newest cell phone. On top of making us impatient, cell phones have made us severely introverted. Whenever someone is either alone, or in an awkward scenario, they instantly pull out their phone. Why? Because it gives them something to do other than socializing. Think about the last time you sat in a lecture waiting for the class to start. Did you talk to anyone or did you just sit on your phone or laptop? Probably the latter. Think about how many friends you could have if you used your phone as a supplement to communication, not the only means. If instead of pointlessly looking at who ate what on instagram, you talked to someone and made a new friend, then used your phone to get in touch with that person. But we don’t do this because we allow technology to shape our culture.

            I mentioned previously how long it used to take to load a webpage, which is actually an interesting process. To think that the information of the page we visit has to travel nearly all across the world, 3 minutes actually isn’t that slow. But since then, it has now gone down to about 3 seconds, sometimes less. It is incredible to think that every time we open a webpage, a signal is sent out requesting access to that page. Once that signal is processed, the page is then broken up into thousands of tiny little pieces and then sent right back to us. How far we have come is mindboggling. We went from having the internet specifically meant for military communication, to it becoming a major part in nearly everybody’s life. Although it took almost 35 years to become publicly available, it has since grown and evolved so much more into what it is today.